Many people will say that a house is not complete until the landscaping is done. In a majority of settings, a green lawn is a necessity while trees, shrubs and other growth can provide practical functions as well as looks. Placement of trees and bushes should be carefully thought out as when they get bigger, they could take a toll on your interior appearance.
Many times, especially on hilly lots, shrubs and trees serve to help prevent erosion of the soil. Trees planted close to your house can later become detrimental as roots begin to grow into the foundation or under sidewalks. Once they grow tall enough they can drop their leaves into the rain gutter bringing about a whole new set of problems.
However, once the trees or bushes reach a certain height they should be trimmed back to keep them from blocking natural night from coming in the windows. They can also block your view of the outdoors, depending on your floor plan and the position of windows. Controlling where on your property trees are planted should be done by looking at the plan and thinking about what the trees will look like 1o and 20 years into the future.
Most types of ivy will climb your house if allowed to grow unabated and it will work it’s way behind all forms of siding, and most have a penchant for clinging to brick work. Many forms of ivy, while it may seem attractive climbing up your exterior walls, will cause damage to the cement holding the bricks in place.
Smaller shrubs can be used near sidewalks and patios, but their growth should be contained so as not to overcome the area. Annual flowers can add color to your home, but perennials such as tulips and daffodils add immediate color in the spring while staying green the rest of the season.
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Christine Cooney
Christine has over a decade of experience as a house plan and floor plan expert. Outside of providing her expertise to customers to help them find and build their dream homes, her passion and knowledge of the home building industry allows Christine to guide families and builders through all of the important steps from finding plans to building custom homes that meet the expectations of today’s new home owner. Christine’s years of knowledge of the diverse trends and needs of the modern homeowner has made her into an authoritative and trusted voice in the online house plan community..